Salt & Spice

Chapter 12

When Honor sensed the tides shifting, she knew it was time to leave. Honor carefully collected the dice and handed them back to Bravery. After redrawing the board for him she entered Coral's cave.

She held out a bladder for Honor to examine. It was an internal organ from the fish they ate although Honor didn't know what its purpose was. Small bubbles would always emerge when she made a mistake cleaning the fish and cut it open. The green glow made it look misshapen and grotesque.

How will this work? Honor had envisioned some type of potion, or a poultice perhaps. The spell didn't seem to be headed in that direction.

It will work when it makes contact with your blood.

Because that's what drives my life force, Honor copied Coral's frequent refrain.

Exactly, Coral seemed to have missed the humor in her remark. "Right now the magic knows what it is doing, but it doesn't know who it should act on. Your blood will complete the spell."

She handed the bladder to Honor. It just fit in the palm of her hand and squished slightly to her touch. This was the part of the fish she would normally toss away quickly when she was cleaning the fish.

Are you ready to go? Coral asked as she picked up a bundle of urchin needles and a stone knife. Honor waved her assent.

They didn't arrive at the shore until the next day. Honor began envying humans their boats. All they had to do was wait to arrive at their destination. They also didn't have to worry about a bladder that seemed like it might pop without warning. Between the ship expedition, hauling Bravery back, and this, she may as well have swam across the ocean.

Relief washed over Honor when they finally glimpsed the shore. She pulled herself onto the sand so she was only waist-deep in the water. The beach was a mess of rocks and sand. Further inland Honor saw a blurry, thick green stripe between sand and sky. If only her distance vision was a little better, she would feel safer. As far as she could tell the area was empty of life, with the quiet lapping of the waves the only sound.

The sand clung to her fingers. Honor tried to brush it off, which worked for the larger clumps, but granules still stuck to her fingers. So far, humanity didn't look pleasant. She submerged her fingers into the water once more, and the tiny specks of sand disappeared.

This will hurt, Coral warned. Coming from her, this might mean anything from a slight sting to a crushing pain. Honor gestured in assent. Coral took a small, stone knife and made a cut on the inside of Honor's right elbow. She watched as blood welled up from the wound, then trickled down her elbow like little red jewels. Coral affixed one of the urchin needles to the bladder.

Are you ready? she signed with her free hand. Honor stared at the needle for a moment, then waved her hand. Every instinct in her body screamed against this. Blood was dangerous. She needed to clean this up and limit the exposure.

Coral experienced none of this hesitation. In one swift movement she inserted the needle and squeezed the bladder. When she had flattened it she put it aside and placed seaweed on Honor's open cut.

Honor braced herself for an extreme reaction. Burning, tingling, bone grinding, something. There was a slight throbbing in her elbow, nothing else seemed to be happening. Out of every scenario she had imagined, from dying slowly and a slow and painful death to eternal exile among humans, she had never considered that nothing would happen.

I don't think it's working, Honor signed.

A maelstrom of dizziness split open inside her mind. Honor reached out for something, anything to steady herself. Her flailing hands met nothing, and the darkness swallowed her whole. The first sensation that returned to her was an intense pulsing in her head. Lead encased her entire body. Slowly, other sensations permeated her consciousness. Wet, gritty sand rubbed her raw skin painfully. Everything below her waist ached more intensely than she had ever experienced before.